The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1887-12-22

Music Source Of IIlimitsb1s Recreai
tion and Amusement.
BROOKLYN, Dee. tS.-At the Taber.
nacle this morning the whole congrega-
ton sang the hymn beginning:
The hill Of Zion yields
\ Thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heavenly fields
or walk the golden streets.
The Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.,
Bad taking two texts: l Cor. vii,
81: They that Use this world, as not
abusing it, and Judges xvi, %: "And
it came to pass, when their hearts
were merry, that they said, Call for Sam
son, that ne may make us sport. And
they called for Samson out of the prison
house; and he made them sport" DIR.
Talmage said:
We are entering the gayest season Of
the year. The winter opens before us
the gates of a thousand amusementS, some
of them good and some bad. One of my,
texts will show you that amusemens5
may be destructive, my other text will
show you that aniusemcnts may be under
the divine blessing and direction.
There were 5000 people assembled in
the temple of Dagon. They had come to
make sport Of eyeless Samson. They
were all ready for the entertainment.
They began to clap and pound, impatient
for the amusement to begin, and they
cried. Fetch him outl fetch him out!'
Yonder | see the blind old giant coming,
led by the hand of child into the very
midst of the temple. At his first appear
ancc there goes up shout of laughter
and dcriaion. The blind old giant pre-
tends he is tired, and wants to rest HIM
self against the pillars of the house: so
he says to the lad who leads him, ''Show
mo where the main pillars are. The
lad docs so. Then the strong man puts
his right hand on one pillar and his left
hand on another pillar, and, with the
mightiest push that mortal ever made,
throws himself forward until the whole
house comes down in thunderous crash,
grinding the audience like grapes In a
wine press. And so it came TO pass,
when their hearts were merry, that they
sail, Call for Samson, that he may make
US sport. And they called for Samson
out of the prison house: and he made
them sport.
In other words: There are amusement5
that ere destructive, and bring down dis
aster and death upon the heads of those
who practice them. While they laugh
and cheer they die. The 5000 who
perishcd that day in GAIA are as nothing
compared with the tens of thousands who
have been destroyed by sinful anluse-
mCnts.
= But the other text | have read implies
that there is lawful use of the world as
well as an unlawful abuse of it, and the
difference between the man Chrl5tlan and
the man uI.-Christ ian is. that ii the form
cr case the man masters the world, while
in the latter case the world masters him,
For whom did God make this grand and
beautiful world? For whom this Won
derful expenditure of color, this grace
fulness of line, this mosast of the ground,
this fresco of the sky, this glowing fruit
age of orchard and vineyard, this full or
chestra of the tempest. in which the tree
branches flute, and the winds trumpet,
and the thunders drum, and all the
splendors of earth and sky come clashlng
their cymbals? For whom did God spring
the alrhed bridge of colors resting upon
buttresses of broken storm cloud? For
whom did he gather the upholstery OF
fire around the window of the setting
sun? For all men; but more especially
for his own dear children.
If YOU build a large mansion, and
spread a great feast after it to celebrate
the completion of the structure, do you
allow strangers to come in and occupy
the place while you thrust your own
children in the kitchen or the barn or
the fields? Oh, no. You say: Il am
very glad to see strangers in my man.
sion. but nv own sons and daughters
shall have the first right there" Now
God has built this grand mansion of a
world, and he has spread glorious feast
in it; and while those who are strangers
10 his grace may come in, think that
God especially intends to give the advan-
tace to his own children, those who are
the sons and the daughters of the Lord
Almighty, those who through grace can
look up and say, Abba, Father" You
cannot make me believe that God gives
more advantages to the world than he
gives to the church bought by his own
blood. If. therefore, people of the world
have looked with dolorous sympathy
upon those who make profession OF re-
Erion, and have said, Those new con-
verts are going down into privation and
into hardship. Why did not they tarry
a little longer in the world, and have
some of its enioyments and amusements
and recreations:" l say to such men of
the world. You are greatly mistaken, y
and before / get through will show clat
those people who stay out of the king
dom of God have the hardships and self
denials, while those who come in have
t." Joys and the satisfactions.
:. i morning. in the name of the King
of heaven and earth, serve a writ OF
eli ctment on all the sinful and polluted
who have squatted on the domain OF
earthly pleasure as though it belonged to
them. while / claim, in behalf of the
good and the pure and the true, the eter-
nal inheritance which God has given
them.
Hitherto, christian philanthropists,
clerical and lay, have busted themselves
chiefly in denouncing sinful recreations;
but feel we have no right to stand be-
fore men and women i'll whose hearts
there is a desire for recreation amounting
to positive necessity, denouncing this and
that and the other thing, when we do
not propose to give them something bet
ter. God helping me this morning, and
with reference to my last account, Ishall
enter upon sphere not usual in sermon
izinp. but a subject which think ought
to be presented at this time. propose
now 20 lay before you some of the recre-
ations which are not only innocent. but